A Flame To Behold
by theladyofthelost
Summary: The Flamels want nothing more than a child, so when they finally get one just after the fall of the dark lord, they're thrilled. Little do they know this is the beginning of an awfully big adventure but not just for them, for their daughter as well Arabella Marie Flamel. Join Ara as she meets new friends, hones her abilities, and discovers who she is. OC


**So this is the first chapter in my first Harry Potter Fanfiction so beware! **

**I do not own anything except Arabella, and perhaps Perenelle's breakfasts.**

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Chapter One:

A Friend By Any Term

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For Nicholas Flamel and his wife Perenelle, it began just like any other day. It was just barely dusk when Nicholas rose from bed, but his work awaited him even in such early morning hours, and despite everything Flamel was used to it. To those in the wizarding world he was the great alchemist and creator of the Philosopher's stone, and to the non-magical world he was the immortal Nicholas Flamel who lived his life in secret to study and research his greatest inventions. Funnily enough both were right, regardless of the amount of fiction that there seemed to be about him, not that he really minded. He was deeply flattered about most of it, and his mention in the Hunchback of Notre Dame did nothing to squash his ego, at least that's what his wife had insisted at the time.

The last few nights had been both wondrous and trying for all that inhabited the world, never-mind if you were of magical origins or not. Five nights ago the darkest wizard to roam the Earth in ages, Lord Voldemort, fell. At least that's what most believed, but Flamel, despite all the supporting evidence, did not. Nor did he join in the festivities of scaring the unsuspecting muggles with shooting stars and owls in broad daylight, even if for the most part it was unintentional. After over 600 years of life he had learned to not always trust word of mouth, or rumors at all despite what they might seem to encompass. After all, there were always stories of those who came back from a fall from grace, and in Nicholas Flamel's mind it was more than likely.

Just thinking of the supposed downfall of Lord Voldemort made him grimace. None of it made any sense! How could a toddler who could barely string a sentence together, be able to do what some of the most powerful wizards of the age could not? He was still reminiscing about this as he started to gather the things he would need to make his morning cup of tea (or rather the first in many cups of tea that would be brewed that morning), when he heard a short but light, tap on his front door. His habitual motions that he went through every day, ceased. Only one person was ever known to make that sort of knock on _his_ door, and despite the abrupt stop to his morning routine (along with his train of thought), he smiled. His blue eyes crinkled around the edges even more than normal, and he cataloged it in the back of his mind to remember, so he could blame the man in question later.

Crossing the space of his still dim kitchen, he walked into his front entry hall before swinging his door open wide, only to reveal a rather unlikely pair that caused him to raise his eyebrows just a fraction of a breath. On one side stood the expected; Albus Dumbledore, a somewhat elderly wizard by conventional terms with a long white beard and periwinkle robes, he was a friend by any term to Nicholas. His normally twinkling eyes were hidden behind a pair of half-moon spectacles but for some reason they had lost their usual glimmer that Nicholas was accustomed to seeing, and a frown was settled on his lips. Taking a glance at his companion, it did nothing to deny Nicholas' growing feeling of suspicion, as she also was frowning, but from her it was expected. The woman's name was Minerva McGonagle a friend of Albus', along with a colleague, but for her a frown was as customary as her dark spectacles and forest green robes. Seeing as they both taught at the school they both fit two distinct types. Albus was the kind of teacher who would sneak you sweets, while Minerva would drown you in assignments and homework. Looking at them both a question formed in Nicholas' mind. _Was he back, the menace of the wizarding world? The man who's followers call him the dark lord?_

"Albus! Good to see you lad!" Flamel greeted, patting the other man's shoulder in a familiar manner as he threw in the somewhat joking welcome he always gave his friend. But the atmosphere stayed dismal, even as the pair both gave him weak smiles, or in Minerva's case a not very convincing corner of the mouth lift that looked much more like a grimace, perhaps even a scowl. _What in all of sanity could be wrong?_

"Nicholas, glad to see you're awake and alert. We weren't fond of the idea of waking you up earlier than you anticipated." Dumbledore said, his normally twinkling blue eyes, that were much more crystalline than Flamel's, seeming dull and dim for what was certainly the first time Nicholas could remember.

"I do believe you are mistaking me for Perenelle, she's the one that has trouble waking up in the morning, not me. But regardless you are welcome to come in if you wish, did you already have breakfast? I can perhaps gather something up for the three of us?" Flamel responded, already beckoning them into his home, hoping desperately that whatever they came to talk to him about wasn't too daunting. As they pair both followed him into his kitchen, Flamel could practically see the cogs in both of their brains turning, most likely trying to find the best way to tell him whatever they had come to talk about.

"Mr. Flamel, there is no need to make us anything to eat, if we had intended to we would've ate before we came, not to mention our topic of conversation takes precedence." Professor McGonagle said almost sternly, even though both men were well past her age, but that didn't seem to bother her. "It is rather important that we speak to you." Flamel stared at her both amused and aghast at the same time, but someone else beat him to the reply, namely his wife, who had just come down in time to hear that a meal might be skipped. Nicholas certainly did not envy the much younger Professor.

"Nothing is more important than a healthy breakfast! Whatever you have to say can wait until after we all sit down and have a nice breakfast, or if you don't want that you can have tea." Perenelle answered just as sternly, arms crossed across her bath robed chest, giving Minerva a look akin to that of a mother scolding an unruly child. Turning away from the frowning woman, Perenlle beamed a smile at Minerva's traveling companion, who was looking on with a slightly bemused expression.

"Albus! How are you dear? It has been far too long." Perenelle said jokingly scolding, as she gave Dumbledore a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I hope nothing is the matter, why I know for a fact that you'd never refuse breakfast before! In fact, you'd leap at the idea." She mentioned as she, to the surprise of no one, began busying herself around the kitchen.

"Well my dear, I was considerably younger then, and I can't think of a single adolescent boy who didn't, or doesn't get giddy at the idea of eating a wonderful breakfast that you so tend to make." Albus responded, succeeding in getting himself out of trouble with the woman, while Nicholas stood there shaking his head. He always had a way with words, and this just proved that he definitely used it to his advantage, much to everyone's disadvantage.

"Yes, you do know we work at a school?" Minerva said snootily, throwing to bits the work Albus had just done. "Besides, while I do agree with you Mrs. Flamel, we have very important matters to discuss that I'm afraid can't wait." Perenelle frowned deeply at this, and instead moved to where the tea kettle was sitting, and turned the stove top on under it.

"Fine, then we can discuss this all over a nice cuppa." She said with finality, that not even Nicholas dared to argue with. While he had been married to her for over 600 years, he still didn't want to deal with her quick fire temper that was so apt to come about rather unexpectedly.

"Alright, then lets move this conversation to the front parlor, it's right next to the kitchen so if we should all change our minds we don't have far to go." Flamel reasoned, earning an affirmative nod from McGonagle and Dumbledore, along with a hmph from his wife. Once they had all settled into the seats of their choosing; Perenelle with the rocking chair, Nicholas with the arm chair, leaving the pair to sit on the loveseat across from them, a heavy silence filled the air, and it seemed like no one really wanted to break it. To no one's surprise it was Perenelle who decided to, as she never was one to sit still and quiet when there was a conversation to be had or rather a meal to still be argued about.

"So, what is it that brings you to our lovely home this morning?" She questioned, aiming the inquiry at Albus, who smiled, knowing how much she hated silence but loved visitors.

"We have some important information to discuss with you both, but perhaps we should wait for the tea, so we don't starve to death." He suggested, making Nicholas smile, so he _had_ wanted the breakfast. Perenelle got up to fix the tea smiling also but slightly more smug; rule number one in the Flamel household was Perenelle was always right, even when she was wrong. When she got back she handed everyone a mug, including Minerva (even though for her it was more of a shove) , and set a plate of tea biscuits on the coffee table between them all.

"Ahh wonderful as always, thank you Perenelle." Albus said taking a sip, before beginning what was to be surely a delicate conversation. "As you know, the war has caused much heart ache and pain for us all, some more so than others. That being said it has also caused for a good number of wonderful young wizards and witches to lose their lives, in some cases leaving other family members behind, may that be a sibling, a mother, a niece, or even heaven forbid their own child to be lonely in their passing." Nicholas looked at him curiously, _what was he getting at? _Albus was always one to give an opening to his conversations, it was what made him such a good teacher. But was this one necessary? Of course they knew about the amount of loss floating around the wizarding world! They weren't that ignorant, or perhaps that fortunate.

"Which is actually what we came to discuss with you, a very prominent young witch who was in the Order of the Phoenix, has passed on, leaving her husband and young daughter to mourn their loss." Minerva cut in, not fond of making too many circles around the topic.

"That's terrible! Do we know the family?"Perenelle asked curiously, real genuine sympathy leaking into her voice. Nicholas only shook his head sadly, there were many people who were living through this same predicament.

"Yes. Though I do believe it is in everyone's best interest if we don't mention who the husband is. I guaranty both of you already know his identity, as you have met the mother and father on many occasions." Albus responded, earning a strange look from both of the Flamels.

"Right well, I don't mean to sound rude or uncaring, but what does this have to do with us? We're not part of the Order, so is there anything we can really do?" Nicholas said cautiously, earning himself a glare from his wife.

"Of course there is something we can do! Otherwise they wouldn't of come here in the first place!" No one could really argue with her logic, so she continued. "Albus, what is it we can do? Do they need a place to stay, or perhaps food, or even some galleons? They are welcome to our help." Albus gave her a small smile before answering.

"Well, it's not really the husband who needs your help, or really wants it for that matter. You have to understand this man is grieving the loss of his wife, so he isn't exactly making the best choices when it comes to his daughter's well-being, nor is he the man he used to be. I have no doubt it will take much time for him to be even half of the man he was."

"He's not hurting her is he?" Nicholas asked, not being able to stop a hint of worry from leaking into his tone. That was one of the things that he always was exceedingly set on when it came to children, or anyone really considering he saw every around him as children since he was so much older.

"Not directly. You see a grieving man sometimes doesn't make the best judgment calls, and the calls that he is making are, however accidentally or indirectly, hurting his daughter. In short he's not really fit to take care of anyone at the moment, let alone his daughter or even himself." Albus explained. Nicholas was finally beginning to get the whole picture, this was the help that Albus was searching for.

"So let me get this straight. You want us to look after the daughter, even though she already has a family." Nicholas commented, and Albus nodded a grave expression on his face.

"It's not just looking after, by the looks of it the father has stopped really looking at his daughter as his child, and more as a constant reminder of someone he's lost forever, so in short you'd be adopting her as your own. Growing up he was highly intelligent and had many friends, but now he has found himself alone in the midst of the carnage that has become the survivors. In short he is a broken man."

"Albus, but surely we can't just do that! Are you sure that this won't be the straw that broke the camel's back? I mean, we've never met the girl, we're not even related to her in the slightest. How on earth are we supposed to adopt her? I mean there's papers that needs to be signed by both parties and background checks and-" Albus cut him off by placing a large packet of papers onto the coffee table, a smirk playing across his face.

"You'll find that the father has already signed all the appropriate documents, all that's left is your own signatures."

"But how did you pull this off? I mean you didn't know if we were going to say yes or not? We don't even know the girl's name."

"I had no idea on the subject of whether or not you were going to agree with this. I'll admit it would surprise me greatly if you refused, but there are always alternatives for a child in want or in need of a home, but I can't think of any that are very pleasant." Albus said his eyes fixed on his ex-mentor's face but it was not he who answered.

"We'll take her." Perenelle stated bluntly earning a startled look from her husband.

"But Perenelle-"

"The matter is not up for discussion. There is a child in need of a safe home and a caring family and I refuse to believe that we can't be that family! I mean, Nicholas how long have we wanted something like this? To have a child of our own? While she may not be of our own blood that will hardly matter if we raise her as ours. Albus, don't listen to the idiot, he gets grumpy and irrational when he hasn't had a proper breakfast, as you can see." Perenelle ranted, while Albus sat back in his chair smirking and Nicholas opened and closed his mouth like a large mouthed bass in want of air. He'd forgotten golden rule number one in their household.

"I was _going _to agree, Perenelle."

"Sure you were. Now what is the dear child's name?"

"You've already decided it's a dear?" Nicholas said, somewhat incredulous.

"Hush, Nicholas, every child is a dear in their own way. Albus?" Perenelle inquired putting an end to her husband's whining abruptly.

"Her name is quite pretty, if I do say so myself, her mother picked it well. Her name is Arabella Marie, and her birthday is December 20th 1979. I would give you a physical description but since you will be seeing her very soon for yourselves, I find it unnecessary." Albus answered her, his blue eyes twinkling knowingly.

"Exactly how soon will we being meeting her?"

"As soon as you sign those papers, and her current caretaker delivers her here." Minerva explained tapping the stack of documents in front of them, handing them a quill and ink pot to write with.

"Her father is not bringing her here? Doesn't he want to say goodbye to his daughter? It might just be the last time he see's her for a long time, if ever again." Perenelle said concerned for Arabella's father despite the fact they would soon be taking care of his one and only daughter.

"It was not I who suggested the child be moved from his care; in fact it was the man himself who thought of and proposed the idea. You have to understand that this man even though he is hurting and grieving from his loss, he has not lost all of the sense that he acclimated over the years. After all he was a model student back in his day, he only ever broke a rule if it absolutely had to be done. Despite how impaired his judgment may seem when it comes to sending Arabella away, I actually agree with the man wholeheartedly." Albus answered, his face thoughtful.

"This really is in everyone's best interest. I'm not entirely sure if he could live with himself if he ever slipped up and by mistake hurt his daughter, no matter how unattached he may seem to her now." Minerva reasoned, stacking the now freshly signed papers into a neat pile in front of her after going through them all and checking them like the excellent teacher she was. "Well that is that. Everything is in order, now let me just go out to the front to meet Filius."

"Filius? As in Flitwick?" Nicholas asked motioning in the air at the approximate height of the small charms professor, earning a light smack on the arm from Perenelle, not to mention a stern nod from Minerva.

"Nicholas, be nice! He's a very nice person, and I'm sure a wonderful professor as well."

"I never doubted it." Nicholas added sheepishly as he followed behind his wife and the two professors to the front door of his home. "I was just wondering if the weight of an almost two year old child would be too much for him, we can't have him collapsing or being squashed." He muttered under his breath, but thankfully it was only Albus who heard him, who gave a slight chuckle.

"She's rather small for her age, Nicholas."

"Oh er- I guess that's good for Frodo then."

"Frodo?"

"Forget it, it's a reference from a muggle book I read not too long ago, it's called the Hobbit." Albus gave him a quizzical look, but didn't ask anymore about Frodo or the Hobbit book, no doubt remembering the name for later in case he wanted to read it. They were now all lingering around the Flamels' front garden, while Minerva sent a message by patronus to Flitwick. The outside of the house was quite unlike the inside, as it had an extension cast on it centuries ago so that there could be more space. To the passing average eye it was an old-fashioned yellow cottage with shuttered windows, normal English tea roses growing in the garden, and a raven weather vane. But to those who were invited onto the front garden, they would see the raven weather vane was alive, the chimney that sprouted from the roof spewed rainbow smoke, and the flowers that inhabited the garden were of very rare and whimsical qualities. In short, it was a house of much magic.

Nicholas glanced at his wife and smiled, she was clearly beside herself with joy. They had always wanted a child, but when they realized the consequences of the act they decided against it. They could not doom a child to live an immortal life like theirs or risk having to see the one they raised die before them from an old age that they had yet to give in to. Not to mention they had never really understood the workings of the philosopher's stone completely, so having a natural born child could prove dangerous. What if the child was to stay an infant forever? He sighed, they would have to deal with the first worry when they got to it, maybe they would chose to age with her.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden crack, and a wail of a child. Turning around Nicholas spun to see his wife reaching forward to take Arabella from the small man's arms, taking only seconds to comfort her before she again quieted. Perenelle was beaming down at the child now sitting in her arms, and Nicholas walked over to the pair to get a look at his new daughter. He didn't really know what he expected, so he couldn't really say he was surprised. The child had dark red hair that fell in graceful curls around her head, and gray eyes that looked up at him searchingly. She had a light sprinkling of freckles on her nose, and despite himself Nicholas laughed, earning confused looks from all of the company.

"Are you sure she's not a Weasley?" He asked jokingly, as he knew the young family and they all had flaming red hair to rival a campfire.

"No definitely not. The shade of red is completely wrong, it's much darker than any of Molly and Arthur's children. Not to mention we know all of their kids, and they have only one girl and she is named Ginny." Perenelle reasoned, while Filius Flitwick gave a little laugh.

"I daresay her hair will turn a bit lighter as she gets older, if my memory serves me right she was a black haired baby. So I suppose she can only get lighter from here." Flitwick explained, while Albus nodded in agreement.

"She's not a Weasley is she?" Nicholas asked this time not joking, that would be awful with all the kids they had.

"No, Nicholas I can assure you she is not a Weasley, not even remotely. I can tell you this however, she has her mother's hair and her father's eyes, but in all honesty she looks far more like her mother than her father." Albus answered, sounding almost sad. He clearly knew the family rather well, Nicholas had no doubt he was rather regretful that everything had turned out this way. Perenelle held Arabella out to Nicholas to hold, and he was surprised to see that she had already fallen asleep.

"Well she was certainly out like a light." He said quietly as to not wake the sleeping child, and Perenelle nodded motioning for them all to go back into the house, where she finally got her revenge on Minerva by cooking a five star breakfast for them all, that not even the stern professor could refuse. It was well past sunset when their guests decided to leave, all except for Albus who stayed behind to visit longer.

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"I daresay you will make fantastic parents." Albus said as he sat sipping a glass of pumpkin juice, while Perenelle sat rocking the child and humming a lullaby, Nicholas was upstairs preparing a room for the child. Perenelle simply nodded, not because she didn't want to answer, but because she was so content altogether. After a pause, she stopped humming but continued rocking as Arabella had fallen asleep.

"That poor man. I just can't get it out of my head. I mean to be in so much grief that he had to give up this in order to protect her. I can't fathom it. He was on our side correct?"

"Yes he was, and still is for the most part. He was such a lovely and caring boy growing up, dreadfully intelligent too, I have no doubt that little Ara will turn out the same way if not better than her father." He said solemnly, yet his eyes still sparkling. "Her name has been on the Hogwarts list since the day she was born, and despite the fact that she is but a child she has showed great magical prowess which is precisely why her father left the matters of her new family to me. There wasn't many things he was adamant about on the subject of her adoption but the fact that she went to a magical family that will help her hone her skills was a must, after them being caring and likeable of course."

"What do you mean hone her skills? She's still a child, she can't be that powerful." Perenelle asked doubtfully.

"Well no not yet. But you see, her father he strongly believes that this isn't the last we'll hear of Lord Voldemort, and I have to say I agree with him. So while I know you can't teach her anything regarding a wand until she's eleven and in school, potions and herbology are free ranges, so I would greatly advise you teach her a fair amount before she enters her education." He stopped his talking as Nicholas came down that stairs, having finished setting up the room.

"I'm afraid I must be off Nicholas. Many things to do, people to see."

"More like much tea to drink and books to read, Albus. You're forgetting how well we know you but we'll let you go enjoy your novels." Nicholas said joking as he gave Albus a hug and a pat on the back, as if he was still a small lad off to experiment in his room.

"Goodnight, Albus." Perenelle said walking up behind the pair to say goodbye, Arabella still nestled in her arms.

"Same to you, my dear." He responded smiling before bending down to plant a kiss on the sleeping child's forehead. "Do try to think about what I said, I think it would be beneficial." She nodded in return, earning a curious glance from her husband.

"Goodnight both of you." Albus waved from the front gate before apparating away into the crisp autumn night.

"What was he talking about Pere?" Nicholas questioned, as they closed the door and started up the stairs.

"I'll explain later." She answered as they got to Arabella's new room, to lay her down to bed. Placing her in the crib, they both kissed their new daughter goodnight, and little did they know this would be the start of their largest and most exciting adventure.

Arabella grew up fast, but well. Perenelle taught her everything from talking to potty training, to eating the proper way at dinner to playing piano. But when she turned eight, the Flamels began to teach her the arts of potion making and herbology, following carefully their much younger friend's instructions. Needless to say, though it was hard at first, Arabella excelled at both of the subjects, and though already making her adopted parents very proud, she did them well. She grew up to prefer Ara over her much longer first name, and to no one's surprise her hair did get lighter but not to Weasley standards, her gray eyes stayed the same. She had always known that Perenelle and Nicholas were not her biological parents, but she didn't mind, she loved them dearly anyway, and they her. And just like every wizarding child her life long dream was to go to school to learn the art of becoming a fine witch or wizard. Her life was a happy one, not too exciting, and not too full of adventure or trouble. But that all changed when she got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry.

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**Right well there we go, first chapter done. I even got a Lord of the Rings reference in, I'll be honest I love adding in references in. Don't expect a lickety-split update as I'm still in the throws of writing it. So until then! ~Lady of the Lost**


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